Meet the Chef/Owner: Coco Thai Bistro

in Narberth is owned and operated by Darunee Mongkhalrat. This proud business owner and chef is the mother of 2 1/2-year-old Coco who is also the namesake of the restaurant. A disarmingly friendly and sweet woman who truly loves her work and the town in which she resides, Mongkhalrat possesses an unparalleled generosity of spirit. She treats customers as friends and even offers free dessert on your birthday. Keep an eye out for weekend specials and decor that changes with the seasons. Read below to find out more. 

Name: Darunee Mongkhalrat

Age: 36

Hometown: Northeast Thailand

Home now: Narberth

Favorite Thing about the Community: I love the families, it's such a sweet and cozy area. There are great events like music festivals, the Charles Dickens festival and more. It's a truly beautiful town where everyone cares about one another and supports each other. It's a great place for kids, too.

Do you do any community work? Yes, we donate gift certificates to schools and foundations whenever they do fundraisers. We help out the students.

Years in the Industry: About 10 years.

Earliest Cooking Memory: I grew up cooking for my family. I started when I was about seven years old. I am the oldest child in my family so it was my responsibility to cook for my family. My mom taught me how to cook and told me what to do but eventually I had to learn how to create dishes on my own and plan breakfast, lunch and dinner for everyone in my family. 

First Kitchen Job: I worked at a French restaurant in Huntington, PA.

What brought you to the industry? I didn't know much English but I know how to cook so I went to work in restaurants. They didn't care that I didn't really speak English; I could cook and my food tasted good.

Advice for Home Cooks: It's about taste. Use fresh veggies! Keep it simple. You can cook salmon or other fish with just salt and pepper and some fresh lemon juice. Be gentle with it and cook it slowly in a pan. 

Favorite Thing to Cook: I love everything. I love seafood and I pick it up whenever I am in the city. I also love duck, lightly roasted duck or pan seared duck with garlic. You render out the fat and make sure to salt the duck to prevent it from sticking to the pan. 

Favorite Menu Item: Pad thai or the tofu and veggie dishes. The duck is also popular.

Healthiest Menu Item: Ginger mushroom with tofu and veggies, turkey dumplings and Thai veggie dumplings.

Favorite Local Restaurant: Coco Thai Bistro

Favorite Restaurant in the World: I like Trattoria San Nicola in Berwyn and Penang restaurant in Chinatown.

Guilty Pleasure (food or drink): I love French fries dipped in spicy chili paste.

Last Meal on Earth: Jasmine rice with crispy Thai omelet: an omelet made with eggs, soy sauce and scallions that is pan seared until it's crispy. It's really delicious and everyone in Thailand knows how to make it.

Favorite Food Shows:  I like Hell's Kitchen. [Gordon Ramsay]'s not nice and I try to do the opposite of everything he does, but it's entertaining to watch. Lots of chefs wish they could act like that but they can't. 

Biggest Kitchen Disaster: The power went out but we still had gas. We couldn't do stir-fries or grill anything but we could still use the stove. I just told customers that we could only do curries and dishes that came out of a saute pan. We were using really fresh ingredients so even though the walk-in refrigerator was down it didn't affect the quality of our produce. They were still good.